


Kissed by the rays of freedom

by Nymphilim



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Unhealthy Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:33:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28734264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nymphilim/pseuds/Nymphilim
Summary: When prince Minhyung of the Vale of the Giants was still a child, he was promised to princess Dongsoon of the Southern Islands. The marriage was initiated to protect both kingdoms from the northern forces. Dongsoon presented as an omega, so all that is left to wait for is Minhyung's presentation. Things don't go as planned and Minhyung presents as an omega instead. To save himself and his loved ones from the king's wrath, he must now marry Dongsoon's twin brother, Donghyuck.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Comments: 4
Kudos: 74





	Kissed by the rays of freedom

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pududoll (aprilclash)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aprilclash/gifts), [ShiningMarkhyuck](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShiningMarkhyuck/gifts).
  * Inspired by [honeymouthed and full of wildflowers](https://archiveofourown.org/works/19001992) by [pududoll (aprilclash)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aprilclash/pseuds/pududoll). 



> this is an authorised remix of aprilclash's "honeymouthed and full of wildflowers"!  
> i am nothing but a big admirer of cla's amazing work, i do not intend to plagiarise or steal her work. if you don't know her story, you should consider reading it! i was just inspired by the wonderful world she built. things that happened in my story don't necessarily associate with the original work. 
> 
> this was just another crazy idea in my head until i started writing it and then I couldn't stop. the story is a birthday gift to my best friend, who loves the story just as much as I do. happy birthday sweetheart! i'm sorry you can't celebrate your 18th birthday the way you wanted to, so i wanted to give you something special.
> 
> excuse any mistakes this is my first time writing and english isn't my native language!

When prince Minhyung of the Vale of the Giants was still a child, he was promised to princess Dongsoon of the Southern Islands. They were to be wed, to ensure an alliance between the two kingdoms. For both of them feared an invasion by the more powerful empire. The Islands possessed the wealth the Vale had always strived for, the Vale had the military strength that the Islands needed, to be able to protect themselves from foreign invaders. Thus, an alliance was established between the two countries, bound to a royal wedding of each kingdoms' heir, to ally the two realms. 

Minhyung’s older brother, prince Sungmin of the Vale of the Giants, presented as a beta, therefore making him unable to ascend the throne and marry a prince or princess from the southernmost kingdom. Hence, Minhyung was to be the new heir to the throne of the Vale of the Giants. He relentlessly trained, studied, fought, to prove himself worthy of his new title as crown prince and future king of the Vale. 

The arrangement seemed perfect for a while, princess Dongsoon presented as an omega, just as the physicians expected she would. The only thing yet to arrive was Minhyung’s presentation as an alpha. After, nothing could stop the joining of the two kingdoms anymore. 

That was until one fateful night, where the Vale’s crown prince just could not come to rest. He kept tossing and turning inside his bed, worry about his own presentation had been keeping him up for days. He has been distracted during his studying and training, which resulted in a scolding from both his father and his trainers. When he did fall asleep, Minhyung woke up, bathed in his sweat. Disoriented he left his bed and room, ran down the deserted corridors of the castle in just his night robe. He was in search of the royal physician, for he was in despair about his current condition. 

He did not meet the royal physician, even though his search was persistent. Whom he did meet, was his own mother. Seemingly as distraughtled as he himself was at the moment, she put a hand to his forehead. 

✼

Waking up feels strange, Minhyung muses. He’s not sure as to how he returned to his own bed, all he remembers is his mother's cool hand touching his overheated forehead. After that, all he remembers is heat, pain, and the feeling of being lonely.

He sits up in his bed and looks around, finally spotting something familiar in the room that he believed to be his own until he looked closer. His mother sits in a chair adjacent to the bed, looks at him with concern, and something akin to pity swimming in her eyes when he finally meets her eyes across the bed. 

“You have woken up my dear.”, the worry in her voice is undisguised this time around.

“It’s been four days since you collapsed on me in the hallways and you have been sleeping ever since. The guards carried you here, it is closer to the room of the royal physician, so he could look over you at all times.”

“Four days?”, Minhyung asks, bewilderment evident in his voice. 

“Yes, it has been this long. The physician expected you to wake up earlier but he explained to me before, that it was for the better you didn’t. You would have been in a lot of pain and your body was going through a shock.”, she explains to him carefully. But the only thing it does is make Minhyung more confused.

“What happened to me, mother, why did I pass out in the corridor? Am I sick?”

“You’re not Minhyung don’t worry about that, at least for now.”, she tells him, trying to reassure him. 

At that moment the door opens and the royal physician walks into the room, carrying a tray of different coloured vials with him. 

“He has woken up, I see, and just as it flared off too. I assume it was the stress his body was going through that sent him into the state you found him in Your Majesty.”, the royal physician says as he puts the tray of vials on the table adjacent to Minhyung’s bed. 

At that the queen nods, “I am glad it was only that and nothing more severe. Well it is serious as it is, but at least Minhyung will be okay”, she smiles at her own statement and looks at Minhyung lovingly. 

“I know it’s wonderful that I seem to be all right, but frankly, I would like to know what happened to me”, Minyhung says, frustration evident in his voice.

“You presented”, the royal physician says. “Right in the middle of the corridor too, but looking back at it, the signs were pretty obvious. If your father and trainers had paid more attention they would have easily noticed the symptoms. “

“So I can marry princess Dongsoon now? That’s wonderful though isn’t it?”, Minhyung exclaims with glee. 

“Minhyung, well, sadly you did not present as we expected you would.”, his mother says slowly.

The utterly shocked look on Minhyungs face lets her halt her speech for a moment. All of the emotions passing over his face morphing from surprise to confusion to despair. The silence in the room feels suffocating. 

Why did this have to happen to me, he wonders, why not someone else. I am the crown prince of this country, my father needs me, he needs an heir to his throne.

“You presented as an omega Minhyung, you cannot marry Dongsoon. As you know, she too presented as an omega two weeks before you presented.”, the queen speaks carefully, choosing her words wisely so as to not upset Minhyung even more. 

“But that means the alliance is not valid. We cannot join the two royal families and ensure political stability that will help to keep the empire at bay. We are defenceless against the empire if they do decide to attack in the future!”, Minhyung exclaims loudly, the distress evident in his voice alone. 

“Well there is one other option, that could change our situation for the better, but your father and the court are still discussing whether or not the possibility is to be considered after they have decided he will let you know. But until now you are more important than the alliance. The physician is here to check on you, I will give you privacy for that”, the queen voices as she stands up from the chair she had been sitting on and leaves the room quietly.

✼

The check-up was taxing for Minhyung both mentally and physically. He’s glad that it is finally over and he gets to lay in his own bed again. 

Coming to terms with the current situation is harder for him though. He was prepared to take over the kingdom since his brother presented as a beta when he was 9 years old. Minhyung is 18 now and doesn't feel any less disoriented than he was the day he was named the new crown prince. Again, plucked out of familiar soil and planted into unknown terrains.

The static peace of mind only lasts for so long, before a knock on the heavy wooden door disrupts him from his internal conflict. A servant cautiously opens the door and calls for Minhyung to attend dinner with his family in the marble hall. 

As much as Minhyung wants to refuse the demand disguised as an invitation, he knows that he needs to attend the dinner. His father will most likely want to inform him about the plans, regarding the now burst alliance between the Vale and the Southern Islands. 

So he sets off to the hall, purposely setting the pace slow. Instead of staring at the statues and portraits of his ancestors that litter the great stone walls of the corridors. 

When Minhyung does arrive at the dinner, his parents and brother have already finished their first dish and are now moving onto the second. His father sends him a disapproving gaze as he sits down but busies himself with his food again soon after. The atmosphere is tense, almost so that you could cut it with a knife. Still, they eat until they have finished the third dish until the king speaks up.

“Minhyung, the physician has informed me that you presented as an omega. This makes our alliance with the Islands invalid as you cannot marry Dongsoon and neither of you can produce an heir to make the arrangement valid. “

Minhyung bows his head in shame but remains silent, so the king continues his speech. 

“The other problem is, that I do not have a valid heir to my throne here in the Vale. This proves to be quite troublesome as well, as your mother’s nephew wants to marry my sister's son. But this is nothing you can change at the moment, I will have word with the queen about that later.”, the king declares while also glaring at the queen with accusing eyes. 

After clearing his throat he continues with his speech, “the council and I have decided that to keep the alliance with the Southern Islands budding, we will send a messenger there. He shall deliver our proposal to them. You will be wed to crown prince Donghyuck of the Southern Islands if they agree to our proposition.”

The flute of champagne Minhyung was holding in his hand prior to the statement meets the marble floor with a loud crack, spilling the contents all over the freshly polished floor. 

Some of the servants in the room immediately rush to clean up the spill and pick up the glass shards. The royal family, however, stays completely still and unmoving, all taking in the words of the king and Minhyungs reaction to it. 

“This is my final word, you will do this Minhyung. Your last duty to your kingdom, as you were too weak to become its king and lead it. It's your opportunity to redeem yourself for what happened four days ago. For all the trouble we have to go through now. “, the king's voice is booming now, reverberating from the walls.

Minhyung still remains silent.

“Minhyung, please”, the queen pleads.

Minhyung tries to collect himself but still stumbles over his own words as if they were too difficult to grasp and speak. “Y-yes father, I will marry crown prince Donghyuck of the Southern Islands, if they agree to the proposal.” 

Everyone in the room falls silent. 

✼

When Minhyung and Donghyuck were still boys in training they used to fight a lot, mostly under the disguise of sharpening their own skills and furthering them. People who looked closer were able to see the real reasons for these fights though. The queen used to say to Minhyung, “he wants to see if you are worthy to marry his twin sister”. Minhyung at the time did not understand what she meant by those words. Why would he need to prove himself worthy of someone he was already promised to.

Maybe it was for that reason that Minhyung never seriously tried beating Donghyuck, furthering the boy's dislike for himself even more. 

Each time he lost, he regrets it now. Maybe that would have changed something, Minhyung contemplates. Maybe the goddess would have considered him worthy to marry Dongsoon and he would have presented as an alpha instead of the omega he was penalized with now. 

But all of that doesn't matter now, Minhyung ponders. He was stuck in the situation he is in now. There was no way of changing it. 

As he looks upon the wide expanse of the ocean and the far-off coast of the Southern Islands, glimmering golden in the light of the setting sun, he reflects those times. His thoughts wander further to his soon to be husband. Crown prince Donghyuck and the dreaded wedding. 

After weeks of waiting for a response by the messenger his father had become aggravated and had almost boarded a ship to the Southern Islands himself, even though the freezing of the sea did not allow for ships to sail towards the Islands. 

Luckily just a day after this threat a messenger from the southern kingdom had arrived, with good news. The Islands agreed to the change of conditions for the alliance and invited Minhyung to come to visit them before the wedding. Apparently, it is customary in the Islands to meet one's spouse for a formal introduction before the wedding ceremony. 

While the king was not too happy about the proposal, he accepted it begrudgingly and sent Minhyung off just a few weeks later, when the unusually harsh winter had passed and spring had arrived. With him he sent some fine gifts from the finest weaponry of the Vale, to compensate for the change in plans. The dowry for the wedding had not been discussed yet so it was yet to be brought. 

Minhyung watches as the scenery gets bigger and more stunning the closer the ship gets to the island. When they finally reach the harbour the sun has set and the moon is high in the sky. The harbour itself is illuminated by the moonlight as well as torches. 

When Minhyung looks around after he leaves the ship, he catches sight of two figures waiting at the end of the harbour close to a carriage, as well as some riders and a barrow cart. When he walks closer to the entourage he recognises one of the figures to be princess Dongsoon, his formerly betrothed. The other person is looming in the shadows so Minhyung is unable to properly discern their face. 

“Prince Minhyung”, Dongsoon greets him with a bow.

“It is our pleasure to welcome you to the kingdom of the Southern Islands”, she says.

Minhyung although startled by the sudden greeting replies, “it is my pleasure princess Dongsoon. Thank you for the warm welcome.”

The other person, who’s face Minhyung still cannot recognize turns to Dongsoon and whispers something in her ear. At that, her face turns into a scowl for a moment but it immediately returns to its former friendly demeanour, if Minhyung had not been paying attention, he would have missed it. 

“It is getting late, I am sure you are quite tired from the whole journey and want to rest.”

Minhyung nods at her statement and yawns, “yes, it has indeed been quite a taxing day for me.”

“I hope your father will like the compensation gifts my father picked out”, Minhyung adds as an afterthought. 

Dongsoon as well as her companion seem surprised by the declaration. 

“What compensation? Our fa-” the companion clears his throat, “our king did not request such a thing from your father. For what reason even.”

Minhyung although not sure about the correctness of his interpretation answers, “I assume he wanted to excuse my presentation after all the arrangement was planned differently and I have not at all been trained or educated about omega requirements. He might try to appease prince Donghyuck too, he even had a special bow made for him since he is known as a gifted archer.”

The companion coughs at that and slowly takes off the hood that had been covering his face and head prior to that. 

Minhyung should have probably expected it but he’s still surprised as he watches a head of golden curls surface from under the hood, as well as an attractive face, jewel-studded ears, and an unusual, not spiteful expression that almost looks emphatic as he stares into Minhyung’s eyes. 

Prince Donghyuck had always been gorgeous in many ways, loved by all who saw him. Witty, skilful, handsome, kind as well as quick-minded. All attributes a crown prince should possess to be a good future king. A golden child, kissed by the sun and the goddess alike. Now officially mature and an alpha, an alpha that Minhyung’s omega side feels irritatingly attracted to, even after just seeing him for the first time in almost 3 years. At the time they were still fighting over Minhyung being worthy of Donghyuck’s sister. 

But now, things are a lot different than they used to be. Now Minhyung is betrothed to Donghyuck, the future king of the Southern Islands. His future mate and lover, where he was his fighting mate and someone he did not remember kindly. He’s now the one Minhyung is set to spend his whole life with. He’s now the one whom Minhyung is expected to give children too. 

The pensive quietness is disrupted by one of the riders clearing their throat and.

“Your Highness, we should head back to the castle now. All the goods from the ship have been unloaded from the ship and stowed in the barrow cart. The future prince consort must be tired. We don't want him falling asleep on the ride back.”

The prince looks up from where his gaze had been lingering on Minhyungs face and nods. 

“We should really head back to the castle. We too have all had a long day and wish to return to our respective rooms.”

He holds his hand out, seemingly an invitation for Minhyung to take it.

Minhyung regards it with a twisted expression on his face, should he take up the offer. He and Donghyuck might not be on the best terms, or rather not on any good terms at all, but it would be rude not to. So he grits his teeth together and takes Donghyuck’s outstretched hand, as the crown prince leads him to the waiting carriage just a few feet away, princess Dongsooon following behind. 

Once the carriage door is opened by one of the servants, Minhyung lets go of the hand and swiftly enters the carriage. The two other royals following closely behind him, the irritated expression on Donghyuck’s face crystal clear. 

No one speaks a word after the door is shut, Minhyung looking out of the window deliberately so as to not have to look at the displeased expression on the crown prince’s face. The ride to the castle is longer than he expected it, the castle built atop of the capital of the Southern Islands a couple of miles from the harbour of the Coraline.

During the ride, the wafting smell of honey and burnt sugar burns itself into Minhyung’s consciousness, the alluringness of Donghyuck’s pheromones being almost too much for him to take. It's the only thing he can think of after he hurriedly escapes the carriage once they do reach the golden castle. 

Trying to block everything out does work for him, until after the servant takes him to his room, where he is finally left alone. And where the thoughts of Donghyuck’s heavenly smell come back to him, keeping him from sleep and peace of mind. Until he falls into a wicked dream. 

✼

“Prince Minhyung”, a soft voice calls from the outside of the guestroom Minhyung spent the night sleeping in. “The royal family is inviting you to join them for breakfast on the southern terrace”

Minhyung groans internally and externally, but calls back an “I will join them after I have dressed up”. As he sits up he can feel the remnants of yesterday's tiring journey in his bones. 

The door to the room then opens, revealing Mirae, an attendant girl he brought with him from the palace in the Vale. “Do you want to take a bath before joining the royal family for breakfast?”, she asks him. 

Carefully weighing his options he does decide to take a quick bath, to wash off all the sweat from the last day and night. Not being used to the warm temperatures in the Islands has led to a wrong choice of clothing on his part. 

During the bath, his thoughts keep wandering to last night’s meeting with the crown prince at the harbour. Why had he stayed hidden throughout most of his and Dongsoon’s conversation but did speak up when he had spoken about his father's compensation gift, Minhyung ponders over it but he cannot seem to find a rational excuse for it. 

After dressing in looser and more weather appropriate clothes, that an attendant from the Islands has picked out for the prince, he sets off to the southern terrace. 

While walking through the golden keep, Minhyung notices the stark difference between the architecture and decorations of the Vale and those of the Islands. The Islands architecture is open with grand arcs and pillars made of marble, not the dark marble they use in the architecture of the Vale, pure white marble entwined with golden flowers and leaves. Grand unglazed windows letting in the light radiated by the morning sun, bathing the corridors in a golden glow. The lilies and sunflowers blooming in the golden pots make the whole setting appear to be a mixture between heaven and Demeter's garden. 

After more admiring of the interior fittings of the Islands palace, Minhyung finally reaches the southern terrace, where the royal family has already been waiting for him. 

Dongsoon immediately gets up to exuberantly greet him, while the king and queen of the Islands just offer Minhyung a polite smile and a nod of their heads which he reciprocates. The two young princes grin at him, though they cannot remember him. Only Donghyuck doesn't so much as look into Minhyungs direction, apparently kept busy by poking at the food on his plate. 

“Have you slept well?”, the Queen politely asks him. 

“As best as I could”, he replies. “I am not used to a humid climate like this, especially during mid-spring. So I had a bit of trouble with that, as I’m not used to it and consequently didn’t pack the appropriate clothing.”

The sun queen's eyes soften at that, looking at him with sympathy. 

“We should see if we can get your clothes altered, we don’t want you overheating and getting a heatstroke.”, her smile turns into a caring one.

As expected of the warm-hearted and good-natured queen of the Islands, Minhyung thinks. She has always been described as someone loving and thoughtful by his own mother. 

“Prince Minhyung”, the sun king clears his throat. “Why don’t you have some of the food while we talk about the future arrangements of yours and Donghyuck’s betrothal.”

Minhyung follows the instructions given by the king, while hesitantly putting food on his plate. His own father would have insisted on having a talk like this in a more old-fashioned way, inside his study with only the two betrothed and no servants present. 

“We are very happy to receive the gifts your father had made for us, not that they were strictly necessary. Donghyuck especially wants to thank you for the bow the king had made for him.” 

At that, the king looks over to Donghyuck who is still poking at his food, and clears his throat.

“Donghyuck?”

“Yes, the bow is very nice, thank your father for it Minhyung.” 

Donghyuck’s voice sounds about as compassionate as Minhyung is about war council meetings with his father. And Minhyung personally really hates attending those, all his father does is go on about how he wants to retrieve Condor Peak from the empire. As well as complain about Minhyung’s apparent inability to rule the kingdom.

The king continues, "further we would like to set a date for the wedding, however, we want to give you time to adjust to the situation first. So we thought it might be good if the wedding was at the end of summer.”

“That’s very kind of you, Your Majesty, I will have a talk with my father about it. I personally appreciate the proposal to move it a bit further back”, Minhyung says with a relieved smile, he had feared for worse. 

“Additionally we also want for you to get used to living on the Islands before the wedding so we would ask you to come back here after you have discussed the matters with your father in the Dawyd. So that you can also get to know Donghyuck before the wedding. I imagine the sudden change of relationship between you two will need some time to bud.”

Donghyuck flinches visibly at the statement but doesn’t comment on the proposal. 

The queen intervenes, “I am sure he wants to show you around the castle today. The spring flowers are blooming picturesquely at the moment. You don’t want to miss those.”

Minhyung smiles at the mention of the idea. As a child, he had always loved playing in the grand gardens of the castle in the Vale. Especially during spring and early summer, when the sun had not yet been scorching hot and the flowers emitted their alluring scent. But all of this was prohibited for Minhyung after his brother had presented as a beta. It was nothing expected of an alpha, even less of the crown prince. 

“It would be my pleasure”, he says.

Donghyuck looks up at that, surprise clear in his eyes.

The queen seems happy about Minhyungs statement but looks at the crown prince with an awaiting gaze.

“I will pick you up in the afternoon then”, Donghyuck says after some moments of silence.

✼

The rest of the day passes in relative peace for Minhyung. Some of the servants measure his body, to fit the clothes he had brought with him, to the humid weather. They dress him in one of the Islands' traditional tunics for the time being. A seamstress accompanies them, hired to fashion a garment for Minhyung’s formal introduction to the Islands royals and people at the grand festival of fertility at the end of spring. 

The festival of fertility is a major event on the Islands. Both the common folk and royalty gather inside the vast temple of the goddess to pray for fruitful crops and a fecund harvest as well as prosperity and felicity for themselves and their loved ones in the coming year and those to come. 

Minhyung will be staying in the Islands until then. Afterwards, he will return to the Vale to debate with the king about the dowry of the marriage as well as future terms and conditions. Hopefully, he lets me return to the Islands after that, Minhyung ponders. He fancies the idea of getting to know the Icelandic customs and people, to get to know the Islands better, as they will be his forever home. 

He is disrupted from his thoughts by a loud knock on the door. 

“Crown prince Donghyuck is here to pick you up, prince Minhyung”, comes the voice of the guard positioned outside of his room. 

Minhyung sighs, but rises from the armchair he had been sitting in to open the door. 

When he opens the door he is greeted by prince Donghyuck looking at him with an unreadable expression in his eyes as they gaze over Minhyung’s body. Donghyuck’s eyes seem to settle on the expanse of the skin by Minhyung’s collarbones, exposed by the loose and revealing tunic. 

“I am here to accompany you to the royal gardens prince Minhyung”, Donghyuck says without a sliver of emotion in his voice. 

To that, he holds out his hand for Minhyung to take.

Minhyung takes the outstretched hand and tries to catch Donghyuck’s gaze in his, from where it had been resting on Minhyungs collarbones. Donghyuck, however, refuses to meet his gaze. 

“Shall we get going then”, the prince of the Southern Islands asks.

All the way to the gardens there is no word spoken between the two of them. Only when they reach the gardens, Minhyung dares to speak to the crown prince after they have left all the guards behind and are now alone. 

“Do you really hate this so much that you can’t even bear to look me in the eyes Donghyuck? I know this isn’t what either of us ever expected to happen, but we cannot escape the situation now. Your and my parents both expect us to marry and produce an heir for the alliance. I cannot do this if you won’t even look me in the eye.”

Donghyuck remains silent for a moment.

“I don’t hate you Minhyung, I never did. I might have been aggravated by your actions but it was never as far as to say I hate you. I know we were not the best friends and I do understand why you have such a conception of the past. The situation is hard for both of us. So please also give me time with it.”

Minhyung is shocked at that statement, he expected Donghyuck to remain quiet, or scream at him. He did not at all expect for Donghyuck to try to be empathetic towards him and explain his own situation. 

“I know it is not easy for you either, your presentation was rushed and your body was not prepared for it. As you said you were never taught to be an omega, you were raised to be an alpha. And not any alpha either, you were raised to be the crown prince and the future king of your country. All of that was stripped off you in just one moment. I don’t know how I would have felt, had this happened to me instead of you.”

Donghyuck’s heartfelt speech makes Minhyung contemplate. Had he had a wrong perception of Donghyuck all along? Had he too grown up just as Minhyung himself did?

Minhyung’s face breaks out into a soft smile. 

“Thank you Donghyuck, this really means a lot to me, coming from you. I would have never expected it to be completely honest with you. ”

Donghyuck laughs at that and finally looks Minhyung in the eyes, it isn’t a happy one, it sounds like a bitter one. 

“Of course you wouldn’t have.”

With that, the serene atmosphere is replaced by a heavy and stifling one. They do not speak to each other once again, just walk through the gardens. Minhyung admires the Islands’ exotic flowers and trees and the smell of salty water wafting over from where the sea borders the bluffs just below the end of the gardens. 

Minhyung walks closer to the bluffs, leaving Donghyuck behind who keeps looking at one of the trees with a sombre expression. Once he almost reaches the rock of the bluffs he stops and looks around. 

“It really is beautiful here, even more than in the Vale”, he mumbles more to himself than to Donghyuck. Watching the waves crash against the shore from above looks fascinating. When he looks closer he can see a small patch of coastline covered in sand just below. 

When a particularly harsh wave crashes against the rock, Minhyung gets startled, prompting him to walk back and lose his balance on the slippery rock. He hears Donghyuck’s startled yell and feels his body trying to catch its fall. His right footsteps on the slippery ground in an odd way as he’s trying to catch his balance, making a throbbing pain shoot up his spine. He curses out loud when he tries to move it again after the fall. 

“Minhyung”, he hears Donghyuck scream while dashing to him. “Are you hurt?”

All Minhyung can do is nod, the pain in his ankle distracting him from anything else.

“Okay, you wait here while I get someone to help you. Don’t move until then, you might make it worse.” Donghyuck exclaims while scampering away, back to the castle.

✼

When Minhyung wakes up the next morning, the throbbing pain is still present in the back of his mind, reminding him of yesterday's events. A sprained ankle, the royal physician, who had introduced himself as Jung Sangwoo, said. “While it is indeed a serious injury, it’s nothing a few weeks of rest cannot cure”, Sangwoo told him and the anxious crown prince. 

That had brought the frantic crown prince some peace of mind, he had finally stopped pacing around Minhyung’s room after the examination, and had left soon after to tell his parents the unfortunate news about the injury. 

He won't be allowed to travel back to the Vale anytime soon, as it would put an unnecessary amount of stress on the ankle. So they send word to his father that if he wants to talk about the arrangement with Minhyung, he needs to come to the golden keep to talk to him, himself. 

His father won’t be happy about this change in plans, but there is nothing he can about it. 

Minhyung closes his eyes at that, he will face his father wrath on a later day at least. He won’t be happy about Minhyung’s careless injury. It could after all mean that the wedding would have to be postponed and moved to a faraway date. He shudders at the thought of that, his father would surely take this frustration out on him.

While Minhyung ponders he doesn't notice the door opening, revealing Donghyuck who carries a tray of what seems to be Minhyung’s breakfast.

Minhyung seems startled for a moment once Donghyuck places the tray on his bedside table. He should have probably realised it was the crown prince inside his room, by the scent he carried alone. No one Minhyung has ever met had such an intense smell of syrup laced with caramel. Sweet scents were usually reserved for omegas, though in his own opinion it fit Donghyuck even better than the omegas he met, who carried a similar smell. 

“What are you doing here Donghyuck?”

“I wanted to apologize”, the crown prince says. “I should not have let you stray off too far on your own. You don’t know the area and you could have seriously hurt yourself, had you fallen down the bluffs or something. We were lucky that you only sprained your ankle. But it still means you will be limited in your actions for the next few weeks. We will have to see if you can even attend the festival of fertility in 5 weeks. Otherwise, things will be a lot more complicated than they are now.”

The prince finds himself shuddering at the mention of the possibility, he should pray to the goddess to prevent such an event from happening. The consequences would not be pretty otherwise. 

“It was not your fault”, Minhyung says. “I shouldn’t have walked away on my own anyway. It’s my fault I got hurt because I was the one who was careless.”

Donghyuck’s scent sours at that. 

“I’m your alpha, I’m the one who is supposed to take care of you. Does it make me a capable alpha if I let my betrothed get hurt, while I was taking a walkout in the gardens with them? I should have looked after you better.”

Minhyung laughs at that, “I don’t need you to take care of me or protect me, like I’m some damsel in distress, waiting to be saved by their knight in shining armour. I can cope perfectly fine on my own.”

The crown prince's scent sours further at that. The sweet smell has turned into something dark and unattractive. 

“It is my duty to take care of you, as your future husband and mate as well as your future king. Do not offend me like this one more time Minhyung, I have been patient with you but you are really getting on my nerves with this. You’re not behaving like yourself nor like the omega everyone expects you to be. One second it’s this the next it’s that. I too, expect you to respect me just as I try to respect you too.”

A duty, Minhyung contemplates. If all this is a duty for him why is he getting so upset over it? He should just do his job as expected and leave me to be in peace. If he and I solely think of this as a duty, it should be easy right? 

He sighs at that, but why does it hurt to be called a duty. We’re both doing this for our families and respective kingdoms. I don’t like him, he doesn’t like me. It’s as simple as that. 

“If this is all you wanted to talk about, you can leave now. I understand your dilemma about this. I won’t ever disgrace you again by letting you seem as if you were not taking care of me as a good mate and king would.”

He hears the door fall shut after that, the only trace left of Donghyuck is the overpowering smell of smoked sugar.

✼

The next few weeks pass in a blur for Minhyung, he eats the food the servants' place on his bedside table three times a day, he reads the book Dongsoon recommends to him when she visits him on her free days, to learn all about the culture and customs of his future people. He doesn’t leave the room unless he uses the bathroom adjacent to it. Sangwoo visits every day to check on his injury, but apart from that nothing happens in Minhyung’s life. 

Exactly 20 days after the accident there is a knock on Minhyung’s door. It cannot be Sangwoo, he already visited him that day. The princess left to go to the town and he had already received and eaten his dinner for the day an hour prior. 

Minhyung clears his throat and mutters a quiet, “it’s open.”

The door opens to reveal the crown prince of the Islands pushing something in that vaguely looks like a chair with wheels attached to it. It seems to be made of dark wood with carved wines and flowers. 

Minhyung regards it with a curious look on his face.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of his highness visiting me and bringing me this wonderful gift? Would you explain its purpose to me, I have never seen anything like that before.”

Donghyuck snorts at that, “it is so you can finally leave this room again. I and the palace’s carpenter designed and built it for you. You can sit in it and someone else can push it from behind. We’re calling it a pushchair.”

If the flabbergasted look on Minhyung’s face is not enough of an indicator for his surprise, the spiking of his scent of watermelon and lemonade makes it perfectly clear. 

“I, hmm”, he collects himself for a moment before continuing.

“Thank you Donghyuck, you didn’t have to do this for me. I am sure you have other responsibilities you need to attend. Not build a chair for your, for the time invalid, betrothed. But you still took the time to do that for me, even though we fought the last time we saw each other. Thank you so much really.”

The look of appreciation on Minhyung’s face is clear when he looks at Donghyuck and the pushchair. 

Donghyuck smiles at that too, “it was my pleasure Your Grace. I know you probably won’t need to use it for a long time, but I don’t want you to be cooped up in here all the time while the sun is shining outside, inviting you to join her. Also, I know you said I don’t need to apologize for letting you out of my sight but please regard it as a compensation for me doing it anyway. I do want to take care of you.”

The apples of Minhyung’s cheeks colour red at the confession. Embarrassed, he tries to hide them behind his hands but judging by Donghyuck’s smirk he has already seen it.

“You look pretty when you blush Your Grace, it suits you very much, you should do it more often”, the crown prince says calmly. 

This makes the prince blush, even more, colour travelling from his cheeks to his neck and ears. It also makes him whine for Donghyuck to just stop being cheesy and embarrassing at a time this early.

Minhyung’s whining makes both of them laugh at the whole situation, the storm inside both of their minds finally settling down and leaving a serene atmosphere they can bask in together. 

“So it would be okay if I did it at a later time today?”, the crown prince asks with a teasing smile. 

Minhyung can only barely stop himself from kicking him in the shin at the comment, remembering his injury only moments later when he feels the aching in his ankle again. He lets out a low whimper at the sting. 

Immediately Donghyuck is by his side, hovering over him like a mother hen would over her chicks. 

“Are you okay?”

“I think I just moved the wrong way, nothing that hasn't happened before, don't worry.”

He ignores the look of guilt on Donghyuck’s face in favour of taking his hand in his and squeezing it as a form of reassurance. 

“So how about we try this pushchair? I have been wanting to see the sunset from the terrace. Dongsoon told me it's magnificent to watch.”

Donghyuck’s smile returns at once, “that would be a wonderful idea. I'll just call someone in so they can help me get you into the char without hurting your ankle again.”

He leaves for a moment only to return with one of the guards from outside, they support Minhyung on both sides so he can take his place in the chair without any discomfort. 

The walk to the terrace is quiet, but not uncomfortably so, they just bask in the last rays of the sunshine together until they reach the small terrace at the west side of the keep. It is smaller than the southern terrace, where Minhyung has eaten with the royal family. But the design of this one is more intricate with huge arches spanning the whole expanse of the terrace as well as small citrus trees all along the marble railing. 

If Minhyung’s cheeks stay coloured in soft hues of red while they watch the sun set over the capital city below the castle, simply because Donghyuck has not let go of Minhyung’s hand then that's Minhyung’s and only Minhyung’s business. And if Donghyuck presses a lingering kiss to his hand before he tells him goodnight, after they have stayed there talking until the moon was high in the sky, then that's only for them to know.

✼

Minhyung gets woken up by copious screams from the courtyard just outside his window. It’s probably the maids and servants bringing in the offerings for inside the temple of goddess again he thinks sleepily, similar situations have been happening over the last days, though usually not this early in the morning. The temple servants insisted on stowing the offerings inside the castle to prevent thieving of the goods, for that reason they are kept in the castle until the beginning of the festival.

The temple is quite close to the castle, situated close to the sea and facing the west of the horizon so that it faces the setting sun. Built solely out of yellow sandstone and lined with the Islands’ famous golden ornaments, it is a symbol of the Islands' wealth and prosperity. There are however no statues or icons inside of the temple. No portraits or idols. The Islands worship the goddess without ever giving her a form or body. They don't mean to trap her. This is also the reason as to why the temple is empty of doors or closed off windows as well as walls. Only the big columns stop the majestic structure from collapsing.

With the festivals' date moving closer each day the city and the castle have been bustling with the last preparations for the special event. Minhyung too had been preparing. While his injury still didn’t allow him to walk around much, he was able to get by with the help of the pushchair. From Dongsoon he heard that it was customary for him, as the future kings betrothed, to prepare a special gift for the goddess, to ask for her blessing of the marriage. 

While he himself had never heard of such a custom being traditional in the Vale, he had of course agreed to do it when asked about it. Since that day he had been tirelessly working on a human-sized wreath adorned with flowers, branches, and small greeneries. Even though he had never tried something like that before he only required little assistance from the maids. Dongsoon, as well as his betrothed, had complimented the wreath when they had visited him in their spare time. 

He gets woken from his daydream by another wail from outside. Minhyung groans, the screams don’t cease like he expected they would, they seem to be coming closer. He buries his head in his pillow to drown them out. 

Suddenly there is a knock on the door and a maid rushes in.

“Prince Minhyung, your father has arrived in Coraline's harbour. He will be up in the castle soon, we need to dress you immediately.”, the young girl pants. 

Minhyung bolts upright at the sole mention of his father coming to visit him. He gets out of bed and dresses with the maid's help, perches himself in the pushchair. The maid then wheels him out to the southern terrace, where the crown prince and king are already waiting for him. 

“Has he not sent word to notify us about his sudden visit”, Minhyung asks.

Donghyuck shakes his head, “we were just as surprised as you.”

“He probably intended it to be that way”, the king murmurs to himself. 

Minhyung is shocked to hear that, why would his father arrive without announcing his arrival, there must be a valid reason. Especially since it is so close to the festival of fertility, where foreigners are prohibited. Minhyung being the exception to the rule since is to be wed to Donghyuck, the future ruler of the country. 

“When will my father be arriving?”

“We assume it will take another 30 minutes”, the king says. “Stay here, I will send him to you once he arrives. Have breakfast until then, you probably wouldn’t want to do this on an empty stomach.”

He gives them some privacy after saying that, leaving the two princes alone. Both Minhyung and Donghyuck, on the edge after hearing the news of the Vale’s King’s arrival.

“Are you okay?”, the crown prince asks.

“As okay as I will be with him suddenly coming to visit out of nowhere. I mean I probably should have expected it, after we didn’t hear anything from him after we sent word about my injury to him.”

Donghyuck’s smile softens at that, revealing his well-hidden dimples that only come out when his smile reaches his eyes.

“Do you want to eat before he comes here? The chefs have prepared some food for me and you.”

“Yeah, that would be great.”

Donghyuck walks over to him and takes Minhyung’s hand in his for a moment. “Things will work out, don’t worry”, he squeezes his betrothed’s hand as he speaks. “I won’t let him do anything bad to you. You are mine now, not his plaything and war-puppet anymore, he cannot drag you back to the Vale again. You’re staying here, with me, Dongsoon and my family.”

Minhyung feels emotional hearing Donghyuck say things like that. They had been cold to one another just weeks ago, now they formed a bond of understanding over many late-night talks, funny little escapades around the castle, and Minhyung watching Donghyuck practice his archery for the fertility festival’s tournament. 

“Thank you”, Minhyung hesitates for a moment, before he presses a soft kiss to Donghyuck’s cheek. He grins as he notices oh so usually confident Donghyuck blush at that.

“Yeah, uh” Donghyuck stammers a bit before he regains his composure again. “We should really eat before your father arrives.” He pushes Minhyung towards the table so he can eat, sitting down across from him and putting the food on Minhyung’s plate. 

Minhyung laughs as he notices that the crown prince had been paying attention to his eating habits. He’s only putting Minhyung’s favourites on the plate.

✼

The king of the Vale arrives at the terrace with opulency. With him, he brought Minhyung’s brother Sungmin, as well as some of the king’s guard but the queen of the Vale is nowhere to be seen. 

The princes have just finished eating their food when the booming voice of the king of the Vale is heard. 

“My son, I see you have gotten yourself into trouble yet again. Maybe we should have kept you in the Vale, so you wouldn't have brought such disgrace upon our family. Spraining your ankle just months before your wedding. What were you thinking, if you were thinking at all.”

Minhyung is shocked for a moment, he expected his father to be displeased about the turn of events, but he did not expect such an extent of disappointment from the king. 

Donghyuck reaches for Minhyung’s hand under the table and squeezes it, an encouraging look on his face. Minhyung collects his thoughts for a moment before he speaks, loud, clear, unafraid. 

“Thank you for asking about my well-being father, my injury has indeed healed quite well, as I have been resting a lot. I will be able to attend both the ceremony at the festival, as well as my own wedding, without any major obstacles. So there is no need for you to worry about all those.”

The king looks appalled at Minhyung’s outburst but quickly schools his face to a neutral expression again. “That is good to hear then.”

“Why did you not bring mother with you? I would have been elated to see her and I am sure she would have wanted to see me too”, Minhyung asks the king. 

“She could not join us due to some internal matters that I will discuss with you later when we are alone.” At that, the king glares at Donghyuck, who just sends an equally poisonous look back. 

“That's a pity then”, Minhyung replies gloom evident in his composure. He has been wanting to talk to his mother since the accident occurred. About the accident, as well as about his changing feelings for the crown prince. 

“How did you sprain your ankle Minhyung?”, Sungmin asks. “The messenger only told us that you sprained it, not why or how it happened.”

“He was fooling around again, did not pay enough attention to his surroundings”, the king says with finality. 

At that Donghyuck’s eyes narrow. 

“We had been taking a walk in the gardens and went too close to the bluffs. The ground was wet and Minhyung slipped on the rocks. I should have been paying attention, it was not his fault. But we all should be glad that nothing worse happened, he could have hit his head on the rocks too. ”

Minhyung feels his heart beat faster, Donghyuck really tried his best to shield him from his father’s obvious criticism just now. His father’s utter disappointment in him has been evident, since the day he had woken up after his presentation. He never directly uttered those words, but it has been clear from the way he has been behaving ever since. 

The king of the Vale stops harassing Minhyung after Donghyuck’s statement. The conversation moves to the discussion of some general topics, regarding the wedding and the time after. 

“Son, you should come to meet me privately soon. I will expect you in my room in an hour. Alone”, he says before he and Sungmin leave the betrothed alone again. 

Minhyung feels a storm raging inside his mind at that statement. 

✼

After dinner, Minhyung finally collects enough courage to go visit the king in his own chambers. 

When the guard opens the door for him his father is with his brother. Both of them are sitting in the armchairs facing the fireplace, which is lit despite the outside temperature being warm. The fireplaces in the Vale are also lit throughout the whole year, as the temperatures are always cold. 

His father clears his throat and remarks “come inside Minhyung. And close the door behind you. We don't want anyone else listening to this.”

He settles himself next to his brother after the door has closed. Sungmin doesn't look content, he has seemed on the edge since he arrived in the palace.

“I have decided to annul my marriage to your mother” is the first thing the king states after they have been left alone. 

“She has failed to produce me an heir to the throne and she is too old to bear any more of my children now. I will take a new wife, who can give me real heirs since your mother was unable to do so.”

Minhyung’s mind goes haywire at that. All he can hear is static noises and his vision is turning blurry. He should have known something was gravely wrong when his mother did not arrive at the Islands with his father. He should have suspected that while his father also blamed him for his butchered presentation, the king would blame his mother for it too. 

“But it’s not her fault I presented as an omega, neither was it mine” Minhyung exclaims distraughtly.

“Who else's fault should it have been, she raised you to be weak. I should have stopped her from coddling you too much before it was too late. She made you weak and soft. She destroyed my lineage, my plans, my honour with that. And now I get to do the same thing to her too. By annulling our marriage she will bring shame to her family and the Clairs supremacy will finally deplete.” 

Minhyung knew of his father’s distaste for his mother’s family; they had always been a thorn in his side. He feared his own predominance as the king. He knew that same as him, his parents’ marriage had been an arranged one, without any love or affection for the other. They married simply because it was expected of them. 

But what he did not know was that his father’s distaste ran deeper than he expected. It had been simmering for a long time, now was the time for it to boil over and drag along everything. The pristine picture of the Vale’s royal family was starting to crumble right before Minhyung’s eyes.

“What do you intend to do father?”

“I will take control of the Islands’ wealth after the wedding and take back what was stolen from the Vale. You will help me do that, son. You will persuade and steer your crown prince to do the things I tell you. If you succeed, I will free your mother and let her live in peace with her family in the Clairs. Otherwise, well it wouldn’t be a happy ending for her, let’s phrase it that way. ”

“Was that your plan all along?” Minhyung questions the king.

“Well I had other plans before your failed presentation, but those unforeseen circumstances did prove to not be 100% useless after all. It would have been way harder to rake in all the Islands’ gold but with you here as our spy in the enemy councils, we have an advantage we did not have before.”

Silence follows. Minhyung tries to remember if his father ever mentioned plans like these before, but no matter how hard he tries to remember, he cannot. Was his father’s plan this corrupt from the start? Would it be righteous to allow him to succeed with that plan, to betray the Islands, to steal from those he swore allegiance to?

“And remember Minhyung, if the king and the crown prince of the Islands came to hear of this, it would be really, unfortunate, for your mother. You don’t want that do you?”

“Yes of course not father” Minhyung mutters.

There it is the threat that was bound to come at the end of the reveal. The dilemma is tangible for Minhyung. Should he stay loyal to his family, save his mother or should he tell Donghyuck and his father but risk his mother’s life. 

✼

The king of the Vale leaves the Islands soon after, to return to his own country. The preparations for the festival continue seamlessly. Everything stays the same but Minhyung. After having heard of his father’s plans, he stays in his room more often than not. The only reason for him to leave is to complete the wreath he has been working on. He avoids the crown prince at any given chance too, going as far as skipping meals and not turning up to meetings. 

Minhyung knows Donghyuck notices this. He still goes out of his way to avoid Donghyuck even more, even though the crown prince has been following him around to talk to him. 

But patience only lasts for so long, Minhyung can feel his betrothed growing restless and exasperated with him. He has taken to cornering Minhyung in the halls and front of his room but Minhyung is still able to escape his clutches for the time being. 

“Minhyung” he hears Donghyuck shout from across the hallway.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear Minhyung muses. He has just finished his daily work on the wreath and is on his way to his room when he meets him. 

“Minhyung, we really need to talk okay? Could you please stop avoiding me for one second and stop behaving like a toddler?”

The aforementioned stops at that and signals the guard who had been pushing him to his room to continue on without him. 

“I feel quite tired, Your Highness, and would like to rest in my room if that's possible. Maybe we can move this important conversation to another day?”

A new day and the same old excuses. He probably brushed him off with this or something similar to it close to a dozen times. The crown prince, contrary to popular belief, always reacted understanding even though his irritation was obvious. 

But it’s different this time around. Donghyuck seems desperate enough for Minhyung to rethink his statement

“But if it’s really that important you can come with me to my room and we can discuss it there,” Minhyung mumbles to himself more than to Donghyuck.

The crown prince’s expression changes into a contented one at that. He then proceeds to take the handles of Minhyung’s chair and push him all the way back to his room.

Once they are both inside and the door is closed he speaks. 

“Did I do something wrong? Have I upset you with anything I did? You have been avoiding all of us for days and the others are worrying too.”

Minhyung remains quiet, unsure what to say to him.

“Does it have anything to do with your father, you’ve only been like this since he came here. Did he threaten you? Did he belittle you again? Please Minhyung, just talk to me. I want to know what's going on with you.”

The genuine concern in Donghyuck’s voice makes Minhyung feel worse. He has made someone else worry about him. The dilemma he’s in does not only concern him, it concerns the people who care about him too. The people he cares about, those he should want to protect and not hurt them as he does now. 

“I cannot tell you what is bothering me. But it isn’t your fault, it never was. This is something between only me and the goddess.” He decides to answer.

“But why can't you tell me. If it impacts you like that it should be my concern too, as your husband.” 

“I will tell you when I am ready, I promise you. But that moment has not come yet. But when it does I will tell you all about it. It isn’t really important anyway” Minhyung knows this is a lie, still, he tells it to Donghyuck. 

Donghyuck seems satisfied with the answer. He probably won't ask about it again, courteous as he is. But Minhyung needs to act better, Donghyuck cannot become suspicious of him, otherwise, this could have severe consequences for Minhyung’s mother, the one he’s trying to protect with this. 

“Are we okay?”

“Yes, we are” Minhyung retorts, the guilt he feels slowly consuming him, further and further. 

✼

It’s the day of the festival of fertility. Every aspect has been meticulously prepared and executed. The streets are decorated with colourful ribbons and bows, there is a heavenly smell of freshly cooked and baked goods wafting all around the capital city. The stones of the temple have been scrubbed until they seem golden and shine lavishly in the light of the rising sun, the temple’s fire bowls have been lit, adding to the golden glow. 

Minhyung is beyond nervous about his official introduction later the day during the ceremony, the most important part of the festive. He’s supposed to speak to the people of the Islands as their prince consort and appease both them and the goddess, with his handmade wreath of flowers, branches, and greenery. When he looks at it now it almost seems too ugly, not worthy of such a special occasion. He should have tried harder while making it.

He gets woken from his daydream by none other than the crown prince. They had been spending a lot of time together since their last argument, getting closer each and every day. 

“Minhyung, the royal physician is here to check on your ankle. You might be able to attend the ceremony without your beloved chair.” Donghyuck sounds excited at the prospect of that happening. 

Sangwoo enters the room at that, his betrothed in tow. “Are you ready to walk on your own again, Your Grace?”

Minhyung nods eagerly, he has been waiting for this moment since the accident happened 5 weeks ago. The injury has taken its time to heal, it has felt like an eternity to him.

While Sangwoo checks on his ankle, Minhyung keeps eye-contact with Donghyuck. They both have anticipated the moment when he’s able to walk on his own again and Donghyuck will be allowed to take him outside the castle walls and down to the capital city and its bustling life. To see the harbour and the beaches, where during quiet times of the day, dolphins can be seen playing in the water. To visit the markets in the streets, where children play unabashedly and everyone seems to be joyful every day. Donghyuck even promised to take him to one of the city’s famous goldsmiths to discuss their wedding rings. 

“It seems you have been resting a lot, Your Grace, your ankle is almost back to its original shape. I do recommend you to be careful when you walk and not stand-up for too long, but apart from that, you are good to go. If you keep that up you’ll be back to your old shape in no time.”

“So I can walk around again?”

“Yes, Your Grace, you can do that now. But please no strenuous activities for now.”

If the bemused look on Sangwoo’s face is anything to go by, he can see both Minhyung’s and Donghyuck’s giddiness at his remark. 

“And no activities that could upset the goddess either”, is the last thing he utters before leaving the two alone. 

Minhyung turns beet red at that, but from what he can see from his peripheral vision, Donghyuck does too. 

The crown prince clears his throat, “so would you want to go outside with me before the festival officially starts? Maybe we can visit the gardens again, you couldn’t go there while you were tied to the chair.”

Minhyung gleefully smiles at the idea. “Yes, I’d like to go to the gardens with you. But I need to be back soon, I cannot attend the festivities in the attire I am wearing right now.”

“But you still have time until then right?”

“Yes, I do, and I would love to spend that time with you.”

The unspoken tension is heavy in the air. It has been there for a while now, growing each minute they spend together. Both of them feel it, but neither has dared to make the first move yet, not wanting to potentially destroy the blooming feelings between them. 

✼

After he returns from their walk Minhyung feels light-headed, he and Donghyuck spent too much time just strolling through the gardens, holding hands. But he doesn’t regret it. How could he even, when this is one of his and Donghyuck’s most precious memories together yet. 

The maids try to scold him about being late but soon stop after seeing the faraway look on his face and getting no response but, “the prince insisted on staying out”. 

They dress him in the robe the seamstress designed for him, midnight blue silk and tulle embroidered with silver thread work and matte silver beads, that form the constellations of the night sky. It’s so beautiful Minhyung could cry. He wonders how many hours it had taken for the seamstress to make the dress. It really makes him wonder how extravagant his wedding robe will be. 

“The prince will be thrilled when he sees you in this”, they tell him as he watches his reflection in the mirror. 

The maids even braided his, in his own opinion, too short, ebony black hair and added little pins dotted with pearls and white jewels. It makes his hair look like the starry sky too. 

When the crown prince picks him up after they have finished dolling him up his first reaction is priceless. All he can seem to do is gape at his future husband, as he sees Minhyung walk towards him. The starstruck expression on his betrothed’s face makes Minhyung chuckle. 

“Close your mouth or else you will catch flies in it,” Minhyung says, the amusement clear in his voice. 

Donghyuck immediately closes his mouth at that. He collects himself for a moment before he steps into Minhyung’s personal space to whisper in his ear.

“You look splendid tonight, Your Grace. My highest compliments to both the seamstress and your maids. You do look beautiful every time I see you, but tonight you look even more magnificent than usual. I just want to make you mine, for no one else to see but me. You’re too alluring.”

It’s Minhyung’s turn to be astounded now. He suspected that Donghyuck finds him attractive, if the spike in his scent whenever he sees Minhyung wear those revealing tunics, is anything to go by. But he has never voiced his desire for Minhyung before, not like this, so raw and passionate.

“T-” he coughs, “Thank you, Your Highness. You don’t look bad yourself.” Minhyung vocalizes, eyes flitting down Donghyuck’s garments. He’s wearing a matching outfit in the same colours, but with less embezzlement and see-through fabric. It hugs his body in all the right places, defining his lean but muscular build. 

“Like what you see too?”

Minhyung remains silent but his rosy cheeks seem to be enough for Donghyuck to know his opinion. 

“We should go, or well be late to my introduction” he huffs and takes Donghyuck’s hand to drag him through the halls to the temple.

“Hold your horses, Your Grace, we don’t want you to be ruffled once we arrive at the temple, what will people think we have been doing.”

Minhyung halts at that, composing himself. “But I don't want to arrive late, what kind of impression would that be to your people and the goddess.”

“We won’t be late, don’t ruffle your feathers. We are just on time, a little early even.” 

Donghyuck takes his hands in his and kisses them softly, finally calming Minhyung down from his frenzy and allowing for a moment of peace. 

“They will love you, and those few who don’t immediately will grow to love you. I assure you that. And the goddess will bless our marriage too after she sees the beautiful wreath you made for her.”

The words astonish Minhyung. He knows the crown prince is solicitous about his feelings, but he extraordinarily goes out of his way to ensure Minhyung is comfortable in all situations. It makes Minhyung feel worse about his and his father’s secret. Donghyuck doesn’t deserve this. 

“We should still go now”, is the only thing Minhyung answers.

✼

Minhyung’s official presentation to the people of the Islands works out smoothly. He just slightly messed up his speech inside of the temple, having stumbled over a couple of words. But Donghyuck assured him it wasn’t noticeable, and if then the people would understand, Minhyung’s nervousness was obvious to everyone willing to see it. When Minhyung’s wreath is offered to the goddess he hears a series of acknowledging sounds from the crowd. 

During the collective prayer, he asks the goddess to bless his and Donghyuck’s marriage and is rewarded with a warm feeling inside his heart as the people of the Islands follow suit. He feels a warm ray of sunshine grazes over his arm too, almost like the sun approved of it too. Minhyung breaks out into a brilliant grin after that, charming every still sceptical person inside the temple. 

When they move to Coraline's town-square, people flock around the prince consort, to praise him for the wreath, his beautiful garments as well as his appearance. Minhyung gets overwhelmed by so many compliments and the Islands people’s affectionate personalities. In the Vale, the monarchs despise engaging with the common people. The Islands are more open-minded when it comes to a lot of things, less prudish and judging, their people seem to be a lot happier too. 

And they love their crown prince. Minhyung watches children pester Donghyuck to play with them, tell them stories about his amazing life, or sing for them. He didn't know Donghyuck could sing, but now that he has heard it, he doesn't want Donghyuck to stop ever again. 

Throughout the evening, many people request a dance with the prince consort, but he always has to reject them. While the physician allowed for moderate stress, dancing did not fall into that category. But the one most dejected about this ban is the crown prince himself. He has been wanting to dance with his betrothed for some time now.

As the food is distributed many of the common people offer him some of their traditional food, there’s too many of them, but he cannot bring himself to reject any of them. Dongsoon laughs at him as she catches sight of his suffering face. When he spots Donghyuck at a table close to him he feels warmth spread through his body as he notices the crown prince’s fond smile. 

He feels positively stuffed after the whole ordeal. But he’s grown fond of the many new dishes he got to try at the festive. He tries his best to remember their names, so he can ask the palace’s chefs to make them again at a later time.

When Donghyuck takes him for a walk through the city later in the evening his smile is still beaming as he rambles about all the different dishes he got to try. 

“So I assume you enjoyed it?” The crown prince asks with a grin on his face. 

“Very much so. I have never experienced something like this before, something where the monarchs and the people connect so thoroughly and celebrate together. The unity you have here, it’s something I really admire, and looking back I wished we had something like this in the Vale too.”

“Well, things are certainly different here in the Islands. But people from your side of the ocean usually describe our behaviour to be shameless, without sophistication and uncultured.”

“I don’t think it’s right to say that. Your behaviour might be different from ours but that doesn't make it better. Your people are open-minded and affectionate. I admire that.” 

Minhyung’s honest reply stuns Donghyuck for a moment. 

After he recovered he’s no longer standing a couple of steps away from his consort, but right next to Minhyung. 

“Minhyung,” he says softly. 

In the background, there are screams of joy as balls of liquid multicoloured fire explode in the sky. Dongsoon has told him about it before, apparently, there once was someone from the Islands who travelled all around the known world. During his journey, he learnt the art of pyrotechnics from a tribe to the east. 

As much as Minhyung wants to lock at the breathtaking display in the sky, he cannot stop watching the light of the fireworks dance across Donghyuck’s cheeks. He looks striking like this, illuminated by the colourful display in the sky. 

“Minhyung,” Donghyuck calls again.

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“Can I try something?”

Minhyung just nods, confused, what could Donghyuck be talking about.

“Can you close your eyes?”

Minhyung although confused with the request does as told. He feels nothing for a moment until there is a pair of warm hands holding his, and then a pair of lips softly touch his own. 

His world stills for a moment, there is only him, Donghyuck, and nothing else. All he can think about is Donghyuck, his hands holding onto his own and his lips softly touching Minhyung’s. 

The kiss is chaste, over before Minhyung can pull Donghyuck in for more. Minhyung hears his own sound of discontent before he realises he uttered it. The apples of his cheeks flame up bright red at that. 

“Don’t worry dear, I didn’t want to stop either. But we should walk back before someone misses our presence too much.”

Minhyung hums at that, he knows Donghyuck is right. What he says is different, “I don’t agree with your statement, they should look for us if they really need us.” 

“As much as I want to keep kissing you, Your Grace, I don’t think they would want us doing that out in the open.”

Minhyung nods, public indecency isn't punished as harshly as in the Vale, thankfully. Still, the crown prince and his consort kissing in the streets, where everyone can see, before their wedding, wouldn't be welcomed with open arms.

He turns around to walk back to where the screams are coming from but Minhyung is dragged back into Donghyuck’s arms for a short but loving kiss. 

Minhyung grumbles about Donghyuck being a hypocrite all the way back, but the crown prince just laughs at his grumpy face. 

When they arrive back at the castle after the festivities have finished, just before dawn, Donghyuck kisses Minhyung goodnight in the deserted corridor. The kiss isn’t hesitant this time when Donghyuck’s teeth nibble on his lips he gasps and parts his lips. Donghyuck surges as the chance and licks inside his mouth, making him let out sounds of contentment. 

One kiss turns into many more until the first rays of sunlight dance through the corridor as the crown prince presses one last kiss to his consort’s lips. “Sleep well, my love. Let’s go to the beach tomorrow, I want to show you something special to me.”

✼

After the festival is over, things slowly but surely start to change. The wedding is moving closer each day and with it, Minhyung’s nerves only grow. There has been an endless amount of fittings, meetings with the planners, cooks, florists. The priestess of the temple has been requesting his presence in the temple to pray for good fortune and fertility. 

While he understands their efforts to make the whole ordeal perfect, he’s exhausted, both mentally and physically. There is rarely a moment where he’s not rushing from one wedding appointment to the next. In between all of that he still tries to spend time with the royal family, to attend their councils, as requested by his father.

Due to all the stress, he’s not able to spend time with Donghyuck, who too, has been growing more anxious every day. Whenever Minhyung catches a glimpse of him, he’s running all around the castle, giving orders to the maids and servants as well as the guards. 

It unexpectedly makes him yearn for Donghyuck’s presence, even though they see each other every day. Yet there has not been a chance for the two to just sit down and talk to another like they had been doing before. 

So when he sees Donghyuck just standing in the library, doing nothing, one day he takes the chance. 

“Donghyuck” he exclaims loud enough to startle the crown prince. “What are you doing here on this quiet afternoon?”

“I was supposed to talk to the librarian about the new books my father wants to order for the royal library. But he’s not here so I might as well just do something else.”

Minhyung smiles at that, he too had nothing more to do for the day. 

“Do you want to go out with me?”

“Where do you want to go then? To the beach, into the forest, into town?.” 

“I just want to spend some time with you alone no matter where it feels like it has been ages since we last saw each other outside a meeting for the wedding or the council. Thank you very much, for letting me attend those by the way. In the Vale, they would have never let an omega partake. It’s been a pleasure to learn about the mechanics of ruling.”

“For me, I think it’s important for you to know just as much as I do. We will rule this country together one day after all. While I am the king, you are still my king consort, you should be able to advise me when times are dark or help me out when I cannot find the right way.

And I would love to spend some time with you, my love.”

Donghyuck is too good for me, Minhyung muses. He really shouldn’t be this nice to me. 

He’s been trying very hard not to fall for the crown prince but said prince has been making it exceptionally hard not to. He’s handsome, kind and loving, a little wicked and savage at times but always caring. He even sang Minhyung to sleep when he had woken up in the middle of the night, after a particularly unpleasant nightmare, the time Donghyuck had snuck into his room at night. 

“Where do you want to go, love?”

The use of pet-names still makes Minhyung blush, but Donghyuck has taken a liking to the way his cheeks flush red every time he utters one of them. Therefore he keeps on calling Minhyung pet-names.

“You mentioned something about going to town,” Minhyung states hesitantly. “Are we even allowed to do that? What if people recognise us or something.”

“Even if they recognise us with our mantles, it would probably be received positively. The crown prince and his consort out for a date in the roads of the city talking to their people. Doesn't sound too bad does it?”

“If you phrase it like that it doesn't sound as bad.”

“Then there’s no need for you to worry so much. Just trust me on this”

They share a loving gaze until Donghyuck’s face contorts into a smirk.

“Race you to the stables?”

“You know I shouldn’t run yet, the physician said”

“Then you will have to walk and watch me run and win.” Donghyuck sniggers and starts running to the direction of the stables.

✼

When they reach Coraline it’s almost evening but the atmosphere is still buzzing. People sit together in groups, eating and shouting. Most of the city’s shops have already closed for the day, but Donghyuck seems to know what he’s doing as he leads Minhyung through the streets. 

“Where are you taking me?” Minhyung asks playfully. “There is nothing here that’s still open. If you just wanted to kiss me you could have said so.”

Donghyuck has a determined look on his face as he drags Minhyung further down the street.

“I would have done that anyway, but later. Now we need to get there before he closes.”

“Who is he?”

“You will see, come on were almost there.”

They stop in front of a dim shop. There is just a small light coming from inside, that of a sole candle. Once they step inside a small bell chimes. Minhyung looks around the room. It looks more like a workshop than a store. There is just one person inside, hunched over a metal workbench with various tools attached to it.

“Shotaro” the crown prince calls the worker, who lifts his head and smiles as he sees them.

“Prince Donghyuck,” he bows deeply. “You did not say you were coming today. I would have prepared more and cleaned up here.”

“It was a spur of the moment decision. And don't worry about superficial things like that. I know what I want already,” Donghyuck voices as he turns to Minhyung at that and takes his hand. “Shotaro, may I introduce, my betrothed, prince Minhyung of the Vale of the Giants.”

“He’s as beautiful as the tales tell, you are very lucky prince Donghyuck. If he’s as tender-hearted as my friend tells me you must take good care of him. ”

Minhyung feels shy at so many compliments at once, at the same time he feels bad for them. How could someone tender-hearted hide something as grave as he does? He’s not worthy of Shotaro’s praise. 

“We are here to see the rings Dongsoon discussed with you.”

“Ah wait just a moment, I have them in the depository.” 

With that, the other man leaves them.

“Dongsoon already created our rings?” Minhyung asks, confused. He did not know that.

“I hope you don’t mind, she really wanted to and I couldn't ban her from doing it when she was so excited about it. Dongsoon has a 6th sense for things like that too, whatever she plans, it’s always amazing. I thought it would be a nice surprise for you and something you didn't have to painstakingly plan through for once.”

“No, of course, I don't mind. I was just surprised. And that’s very sweet of her, she took her time and did this for us. I couldn't even be mad at her even if it doesn't look perfect. She has almost become like my own sister.”

“I bet she would be happy to hear that.”

Just as Donghyuck says that Shotaro, the jeweller, returns. 

“I found them, I just finished them last night so you’re right on time actually.”

He opens the box he brought, revealing two rings nestled on a soft cushion. Both of them are made of the Islands’ famous gold but with two contrasting symbols. While the one on the right has a pure white jewel, shaped into a moon, the left one has a just as beautiful jewel, but this time shaped like a star. They’re breathtakingly beautiful, in the metal of the two rings, there are smaller jewels in the form of small stars, arranged to represent a night sky made of gold and jewels. 

Donghyuck points at them. “The right one is mine and the left one is yours, love. Because you’re my moon in the darkness, guiding me home and I’m your star, shining brightly for you at all times of the day because the sun is a star too as you know.”

Minhyung, honest to the goddess, cannot stop himself from breaking into tears as he sees them. It’s something so precious, something to be kept safe and be protected from any harm. Harm, like the one his father wants to evict in the Islands. The harm they don’t deserve, just for him to reach his own goals. But he needs to do this, he needs to stay strong for his mother. 

“They” he sobs, “they’re so lovely and gorgeous and,'' he has to hold back another sob. “They're just perfect.”

“I am happy that you like them, it’s not every day that you get the task to craft your crown prince’s wedding ring, so I tried my very best.”

“You did just perfect Shotaro, thank you. I really like them too,” Donghyuck says. “Can we already take them with us to the castle or are they supposed to stay here until the wedding?”

“Your sister told me it was allowed for you to take them back to the keep. You just can’t wear them on your finger yet.”

Minhyung cradles the box to his chest. He will keep them safe. Safe from any harm that will come their way. No matter what it takes. He wishes he could do that to Donghyuck too, protect him from the storm that is his father. But Donghyuck can protect himself, Minhyung is sure of that, his mother can’t. 

✼

The closer the wedding date gets, the worse Minhyung feels. He hasn’t gotten a good night's sleep in what feels like weeks, the maids are constantly scolding him about that. 

“You cannot turn up to your own wedding like that, the bags under your eyes are horrifying.” They constantly remind him of his own misery. 

He promises them to visit the royal physician to get sleep remedies. But even once he starts taking those, whenever he closes his eyes in the darkness of his room, his demons start to haunt him

Donghyuck keeps bothering him about it too, but he too lets Minhyung be after he tells him he will speak to Sangwoo. 

Minhyung keeps his facade up until just a mere four days before the wedding. Donghyuck invites him to his room after dinner and while not prohibited, they do some comical reactions when the guards see him following Donghyuck into the room. 

They are comfortable around each other, the many days they had spent together left their marks. Whenever they are alone, they gravitate towards each other. May it be in the library, where the high shelves of the century-old books hide them from prying eyes, or in the gardens, where the lush green shrubbery filled with flowers provides an ideal hiding spot. Either way, Minhyung is glad for their private moments of intimacy. Especially with the way Donghyuck’s lips seem desperate to meet his, during each moment they spend together. 

They both are impatient, they kiss a little too long and things get heated, hands caressing each other’s body too much the air getting heavy with arousal and their pheromones. He has to remind himself to stay calm every time, they cannot do things like these. No matter how much he and Donghyuck want too. Even if no one sees them, it would still be desecrating.

Donghyuck pulls him to sit on the bed, tearing him from his imagination in the process. 

“I know I have asked this countless times before and you must be sick of this by now, but are you really okay? I just cannot shake the feeling that something is bothering you and I just want to help you with it. I know you told me it’s nothing important, but to me, it doesn't feel like it's not.”

Minhyung sighs, he should have expected it. But he can't even be mad at Donghyuck for it, after all, it just shows that he cares for him.

“Why won’t you tell me?” Donghyuck sounds defeated this time. “Why, my love.”

“I want to tell you. Each day I try, but I just can’t. It’s eating me alive, too.”

“But why. If it’s eating you alive, why don’t you tell me? It might make you feel better.”

“It won’t make me feel better if I hurt you. You will be hurt when I tell you, you might even be angry. I broke your trust. I betrayed you, your family, your people. I already said too much.”

The atmosphere in the room is tense after MInhyung’s reveal. He can see Donghyuck angrily clenching his fist and trying to stay calm, his scent reveals just how much the words affected him. It has turned from sweet to burned.

“Why don't you just tell me, as you said, you already told me too much. Just tell me what it is so that I can tell my father and he can punish you accordingly.”

“I didn't want to do this. Really. But there was no other option,” Minhyung is desperate now. 

“My father, he, he wants me to manipulate you. The king of the Vale wants to steal the Islands’ money, so he can conquer Condor Peak. He wants me to sit in on your council meetings so that I can tell me what you're doing behind his back. To learn about your battle strategies and your government’s system.”

The room is silent for a moment. Donghyuck’s eyes flash a dangerous red, he’s angry, so, so angry. His loud voice echoes from the walls.

“Guards, leave us alone for a moment. This is an order.”

There is shifting outside and then Minhyung hears footsteps heading away from them. Donghyuck waits until there are no more sounds from outside. 

“You, you’re a plant. You made us think you were the innocent omega who needed to be saved from his father. I can't believe I fell for that, I even tried to help you. You fooled us all pretty well, didn't you? You must be very proud, your father too. Was your presentation all fake too and all those clumsy accidents, just to reach your goal?”

Donghyuck’s pained shouts ring loudly in Minhyung’s ears. 

“No, that wasn’t fake. How could you think that?”

“Well apparently everything is fake, so why shouldn't those be either. Were your feelings all played too?”

“Donghyuck no, never. I always meant whatever I said to you. I would never hurt you like that, you’ve only ever been nice to me since I arrived here.”

“Well, it’s not too absurd, is it? Seeing the lengths you and your father went through to orchestrate this play it’s quite probable.”

“I did this because he forced me too. Not because I hate you, or your family, or the Islands’ people.”

“That sounds like a pretty standard excuse, doesn't it. If you're so independent why didn’t you just refuse?”

Minhyung swallows audibly, his voice shakes as he speaks the next sentence. 

“He has my mother. I don’t know where he keeps her, but he told me he will hurt her if I don't do as he says.”

Donghyuck is stunned for a moment.

“So you’d sacrifice all of that just for some half-assed threat? The Islands’ people are innocent, you can’t just drag them into this too. You don’t even know if he hasn't already killed her. You could have told me, me, my father or Dongsoon. We would have understood, would have helped you.”

“I know,” Minhyung is crying now. “But he told me he would know if I told you, he would hurt her then. Donghyuck please, she’s one of the only people in the Vale who really cared about me, the one who had faith in me even if I failed, once again. I can’t lose her.”

“Minhyung,” Donghyuck collects himself. “What you did was foolish and dangerous, and I won’t be able to forgive you for this now. But there are more important matters at hand. Let’s talk about this after the wedding, we’ll tell my father then too. Until then let us forget about your father. He won’t do anything during the wedding and it would be unwise to attack him now. 

Minhyung is still sobbing, but his heart feels lighter now, like the burden he has been carrying around, finally fell off. He knows things are far from perfect, but at least until after the wedding is over he will pretend they are, he will let himself be happy.

✼

The day of the wedding, Minhyung is beyond nervous. He’s been put through so many beauty treatments, he feels like a completely new human. 

His body will be Donghyuck’s temple tonight, so he should be pretty, pretty enough to be worshipped by the crown prince. Even the priestess said something like that the last time she visited, though a bit vaguer. 

They braided his hair again, but this time instead of jewels they added flowers. The Islands’ traditional flowers, all colourful and one more beautiful than the other. Periwinkles, yellow, white and blue forget-me-nots, acacias and white roses. To signify young and everlasting love, elegance and purity. 

He hopes Donghyuck is just as nervous as he is, otherwise he will make a fool out of himself when he meets his husband at the front of the temple. He wonders if he had to go through just as many painful procedures as he did. 

“Ouch,” he whimpers in pain as the maid removes another strip of wax from his body.

“It’s all for the greater good, your grace,” she apologizes. “You will want to give prince Donghyuck an heir soon, so you must impress the goddess.”

“Since when did the goddess look under people’s robes,” Minhyung wonders out loud. 

The maid has to hold back her laughter at that but continues with her work. This will be a gruelling time for me, Minhyung thinks.

They dust golden powder on his cheeks and eyelids, making them shine beautifully once the sun hits his skin. A maid applies a cherry-red lotion to his lips, to paint them, it tastes like cherries too.

When they finish preparing him thoroughly he finally gets to catch a glimpse of his tunic for the day. It’s a royal blue fabric with golden embroidery this time, undoubtedly to represent his departure from the Vale, by leaving behind its signature silver shades and adapting to the Islands’ gold, though the traditional colours of the Clairs, his mother’s home, stay with him throughout this time too. 

The tunic itself is magnificent. It almost seems sleeveless, if not for the arrays of thin, sheer, blue fabric that span around his arms, leaving nothing to the imagination. There is a golden studded with jewels waistband hugging his middle and the cut of the tunic reveals his neck and collarbones. He wears a gold chain around his neck, as wished by his father. To represent the bond he will form to Donghyuck, his future mate, binding Minhyung to the crown prince for eternity. 

While he’s not exactly happy with his father’s design choice he has learnt to accept it, so as to not cause trouble, at least for that day. 

As he leaves the dressing room he catches sight of Dongsoon, who is holding what is presumably his wedding bouquet. It’s made of the same flowers, that are braided in his hair, all lush and abundant.

“I thought I had missed you. But it seems like I was right on time.” She says, a beaming smile on her face as she offers him the flowers. 

“Donghyuck is in the temple already, he’s trying to wear down his shoes all in a couple of hours with all the pacing around he is doing. He seems anxious.”

“He’s certainly not the only one,” Minhyung chuckles nervously. “The maids prohibited me from walking around too much, said it would destroy all their hard work.”

“Well, they are right about that. You look gorgeous by the way Minhyung. They perfectly expanded your natural beauty. You still look like you, just, like a diamond now instead of an unpolished jewel.”

The apples of Minhyung’s cheeks paint themselves pink at that.

“Thank you for the compliment. You look great too.”

She leaves after giving him a desperately needed pep-talk. He makes his way to the temple after that, he can’t be late to his wedding. 

✼

Minhyung walks down the aisle made of flowers and ribbons with practised ease. They rehearsed this particular moment at least 20 times, to prevent anyone from ruining the ceremony.

The veil on his head feels heavy and itches, but cannot yet take it off, only Donghyuck can, after they have spoken their vows. 

He passes a lot of unknown and a couple of known faces as he walks the long way to the front. His brother, sister-in-law and nieces, his father, the royal family of the Islands, Shotaro, Donghyuck’s future advisor and best friend Jeno, as well as some people he remembers from the town square.

All of them smile at him, some more genuine than others. 

He cannot see Donghyuck’s face yet, he’s still turned towards the altar and the priestess. As he reaches the steps leading up to the altar, his betrothed turns towards him and offers him a hand. Together they climb the steps until they are both standing in front of the Islands’ priestess. 

Finally, Minhyung gets to look at Donghyuck. His golden hair is cut and arranged neatly around his face. He wears a tunic made of white and golden fabric, though less revealing than Minhyung’s, again. His hands are warm in Minhyung’s as he examines Minhyung from head to toe, stopping at the naked skin of his neck, as always. 

“You look stunning,” he mouths.

Minhyung just smiles back. 

They both keep beaming through the priestesses' whole speech. When it’s their time to speak the vows, they can’t take their eyes off each other. Both blushing furiously as they utter the “I do”.

But they feel the happiest when they put the rings on each other. Minhyung truly feels happy that moment, he’s distressed his mother can't see him now, she would be very happy too. The sweet kiss they share after exchanging the rings just amplifies the feeling.

The crowd cheers loudly as they witness the couples’ happy moment. Even the usually stoic priestess can’t hide her smile 

✼

After the ceremony is over they move to the keep, where the feast has already been prepared. Every citizen of the Islands’ is invited to join them that day. It is an immensely happy day for everyone, so the royal family wants to share that with all of them. 

Laughter and joy reverberate all around the castle, as Donghyuck and Minhyung share their first dance on a sunny day in late august. They cannot seem to take their eyes off each other since the ceremony finished. It has many of the older citizens laughing at the open display of young and pure love. 

The couple gets congratulated by many people, young and old, commoners and royals from faraway places, who have arrived just to witness the precarious union between the Vale of the Giants and the Southern Islands. 

When it is time for them to leave the celebration, there are rows of whistles that have Minhyung ducking his head in embarrassment and hurrying away from the cheering crowd, a laughing Donghyuck in tow. 

“No need to be embarrassed, love, we’re legally obliged to do this. No one will look down on us if we do.” His husband says once they reach their new room. 

It’s bigger than his and Donghyuck’s old rooms, with a grand bed that looks unfairly comfortable. There is a second door leading to a bathroom and an open arch leading to a balcony, overseeing the city. 

Before Minhyung admires the room more, Donghyuck tugs him onto the bed. They just hold each other for a while, basking in the setting sun and listening to the sounds of the still ongoing celebration. 

It all starts off with an innocent kiss, just a peck. The peck turns into an open-mouthed kiss soon enough, that has both of them panting. 

When Donghyuck starts to undress him Minhyung is shy at first, almost halting him from continuing. 

“I have never done this before.”

“And neither have I, my love. But I will be gentle with you I promise.”

Minhyung is pliant after that, almost needy, he lets Donghyuck undress him and admires Donghyuck’s body as he undresses too. 

When mouths collide once again he feels brave enough to act and start touching Donghyuck. He is rewarded with a quiet moan that encourages him to caress Donghyuck’s cock more. The more he touches him, the more he feels himself get aroused too, he feels the slick leak inside of his body. 

At that Donghyuck growls and turns them around so that he’s on top of Minhyung. 

“Can I touch you too?”

Minhyung utters a breathy “yes”, that has Donghyuck shiver too. 

The first finger probing his hole is unexpected, it hurts a little too, but with Donghyuck kissing him and caressing his body he opens up for more fingers readily. When he can feel the slick leaking out and Donghyuck is 4 fingers deep inside of him he halts him for a moment.

“You, you can. I’m ready. You won’t hurt me.”

Donghyuck is sceptical at first but his body is begging him for release too. So he obliges Minhyung’s request and collects some of the slick to coat his dick with it. He takes Minhyung’s hands in his as he lines his dick up with Minhyung’s fluttering hole. 

“You need to tell me if it’s too much okay?”

Minhyung just nods and urges him to “just do it already”.

The first few thrusts are painful, but not extraordinarily so. Donghyuck has stretched him quite well and the slick aids too. The loving kisses help too. 

Once he gives Donghyuck the okay, he starts pushing into him faster. Both their moans and whimpers fill the room as they chase their release together. Minhyung comes first, already more sensitive from all the fingering and Donghyuck teasing his nipples for fun until they are hard. Donghyuck follows suit after the erratic clenching of Minhyung’s hole brings him over the edge too. 

As Donghyuck marks him as his mate, his knot begins to form too, locking them together. Minhyung whines at the overstimulation but falls asleep soon after, the exhaustion seeping into his bones. 

After Donghyuck’s knot has deflated he grabs a wet towel from the bathroom and cleans his mate's body before he follows him into dreamland. 

✼

Minhyung wakes up the next morning, Donghyuck’s arms still around him. The atmosphere is peaceful, he can hear the birds chirping from one of the tree’s close to the balcony. The first rays of sunshine start streaming into the room, he falls back asleep soon after. When he wakes up again the sun shines onto the bed, kissing his face. 

Today is the day he is free of his father, where he can finally be himself again. That day he and Donghyuck will go and talk to the king about Minhyung’s father’s threat. Things will be okay. He has finally attained freedom and found love along the way. 

**Author's Note:**

> you made it through the story! thank you so much for reading! leave a kudo or comment if you liked it! remember, those make writers happy and happy writers are productive writers!
> 
> i do intend to continue the story, but life is very stressful at the moment so I don't know when I will find time again. i ended it on this hopeful note intentionally, so it wouldn't be as much of a cliffhanger as I initially planned. 
> 
> stay safe everyone and take care until then.
> 
> twt: @Nymphilim


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